In Excel: click inside the table and choose Table Design ▸ Convert to Range to keep the data as a normal range, or select the whole table and press Delete (or Home ▸ Clear ▸ Clear All) to remove the data too.
On this page7
Click any cell inside the table so the contextual Table Design tab appears.
To keep the data, choose Table Design ▸ Convert to Range (or right-click ▸ Table ▸ Convert to Range) and confirm.
The table style stays as static formatting; remove it with Home ▸ Clear ▸ Clear Formats if you want plain cells.
To delete everything instead, press Ctrl+A twice inside the table to select it including headers, then Home ▸ Clear ▸ Clear All.
Check formulas afterwards: converting rewrites Table1[Sales] to cell references, while deleting the table turns them into #REF! errors.
What this does
Removing a table means one of two different things, and Excel has a separate path for each. Convert to Range keeps every value and formula but strips the table behavior: filter buttons, auto-expansion and the table name disappear, and structured references such as =SUM(Table1[Sales]) are rewritten to plain cell references like =SUM(B2:B6). Deleting the table removes the data as well: select it and press Delete to clear the contents, or use Home ▸ Clear ▸ Clear All to wipe values and formatting in one step. Note that Convert to Range leaves the banded table style behind as static formatting. Before you run it on a workbook other people depend on, try it on a copy or a few rows first. Undo only reaches back through the current session, so a quick trial run is the cheapest way to see exactly what will change before the file is saved and shared. For “get rid of a table in excel”, the reliable version is a short checking loop, not just the first command that appears to work. Run it on a deliberately small range first, watch how the affected cells change, and only then apply the same setup to the full sheet. When this is a ribbon command, the selection matters more than the button: confirm the range, apply the command, then spot-check the output before saving. That is what makes a layout choice that keeps the sheet readable and sortable useful in real work: repeatable, auditable, and not dependent on memory or luck.
A worked example
Table1 sits in A1:B6 with headers Month and Sales, and E1 contains =SUM(Table1[Sales]), showing 4700. Click any cell in the table, open Table Design ▸ Convert to Range and confirm. The filter arrows vanish, E1 now reads =SUM(B2:B6) and still shows 4700, and the striped rows remain until you select A1:B6 and choose Home ▸ Clear ▸ Clear Formats. Tables add filter buttons, auto-expansion and structured references you may not want when handing over a simple sheet, pasting into another system, or building layouts a table would fight against. If this is something you do often, add the command to the Quick Access Toolbar (right-click it on the ribbon and choose Add to Quick Access Toolbar) or learn its shortcut, so next time it is one click instead of a hunt through the menus.
In Google Sheets
This is a command rather than a formula, so there is no syntax to carry over. Google Sheets arranges its commands in menus across the top instead of a ribbon, names some of them differently and does not have every Excel command — look for the equivalent in the Sheets menus or its help before assuming the steps match. The aim was to get you unstuck fast and leave you a little more capable than a copy-paste would. The answer is at the top and the detail above shows why it holds — so the next time a colleague asks, you can answer without reaching for search. The short version of “get rid of a table in excel”: the answer is at the top of this page, and the sections above explain why each step matters, so a variation of the problem does not stump you. Try it once on a copy of a real file and the steps stick far better than re-reading them.
Common mistakes
- Expecting Convert to Range to remove the striped formatting — the style stays until you clear formats.
- Pressing Delete on the contents and assuming the table is gone; the empty table object and its name still exist.
- Looking for the Table Design tab without first clicking inside the table — it only appears for the active table.
- Deleting a table that other formulas reference by name, which leaves
#REF!errors instead of converted references. - Confusing deleting a table with deleting the worksheet tab that contains it.
Frequently asked questions
Does Convert to Range delete my data?
No. All values and formulas stay in place; only the table behavior (filters, name, structured references, auto-expansion) is removed.
What happens to =Table1[Sales] formulas?
Convert to Range rewrites them to ordinary references such as =SUM(B2:B6). Deleting the table instead breaks them with #REF!.
How do I remove a table in Google Sheets?
For the newer Sheets tables, open the menu next to the table name and convert it to an unformatted range. If it is just banded formatting, use Format ▸ Alternating colors ▸ Remove.